Trump and Zelensky escalate feud as Ukraine war strains alliance
The increasingly personal dispute complicates President Donald Trump’s efforts to broker an end to the war. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky at the European Union headquarters in Brussels on Friday. (Nicolas Tucat/AFP/Getty Images) By Cleve R. Wootson Jr . and Sammy Westfall The Washington Post October 18, 2026 at 7:34 p.m. President Donald Trump defended his decision to ease pressure on Russia and accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of prolonging the war Sunday, hurling blame across the Atlantic even as members of his own party criticized Trump’s approach to Moscow. In a lengthy social media post, Trump praised Russia for supplying diesel to global markets while claiming that Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries were harming American farmers and businesses. He also claimed that Zelensky “doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did.” The increasingly personal attacks threaten to further strain the U.S.-Ukraine alliance and complicate Trump’s efforts to broker a...